| On April 3rd, The
Get Up Kids returned to Lawrence to play the Bottleneck. Also playing that night were The
Higher Burning Fire and Danny Pound (formerly of Vitreous Humor and The Regrets). Brandon
Butler (of Boy's Life notoriety) was scheduled to appear, but had other commitments and
couldn't make it. Danny Pound got things underway
with his three-piece back up band, which consisted of guitar, bass, and a floor tom. The
band, deciding to play that night under the montra of "Lollipop Sauce." They
opened the set with a song called "Tootsie Roll Up My Butt." The entire set
consisted of five songs - one of which was a cover of the Doors' "People are
Strange." Overall, I thought their sound and musicianship were good but Danny's
spoken-word-esque lyrics were a bit over-bearing.
Next up was the Higher Burning Fire. The group had a smooth
melodic sound including an instrumental piece in their set. The one shortcoming to me was
the lack of introduction and interaction with the audience. I never really knew when one
song ended and another began - because they never really introduced them. Also,
while the music flowed and was rhythmically tight, it was so mellow that most people lost
interest half-way through the set.
After the laid back sounds of Higher Burning Fire, The Get
Up Kids rocked! They played with a great deal of energy considering the fact that they
were in Texas the night before and had only gotten two hours of sleep. Their set ended
with the song that was constantly on the radio last year, "Don't Hate Me."
Overall their sound was tight and fused with energy.
On the whole the show was and interesting mix of sounds
from beginning to end. The weak points were well outweighed by the great sounds and energy
put into the show. I enjoyed it, and hope to see The Get Up Kids again soon. |
